A California Fashion Act Seeks to Hold Brands ‘Environmentally Accountable’

On the heels of New York, Massachusetts and Washington, California is lobbying for a Fashion Act of its own.

It’ll be a way to hold brands and retailers that sell into the state liable for the “emissions and toxic chemical footprint of the fashion industry,” said Assemblymember Dawn Addis, who introduced AB 405, formally known as the Fashion Environmental Accountability Act, on Tuesday.

The move comes amid the Trump 2.0 administration’s aggressive dismantling of federal environmental protection policies, its swift withdrawal from the landmark Paris climate agreement and its repeated promises to ratchet up greenhouse gas-spewing domestic oil and gas production, including for export. President Donald Trump has also ordered various government departments—including the Environmental Protection Agency, which he views as an adversary and could push to downsize—to purge any mentions of the climate crisis from their public websites.

“Disposable clothing is designed to be worn a few times and then thrown away, creating toxic waste that pollutes our environment,” Addis said. “Additionally, chemicals used to create this fashion can cause real health issues for the workers who make them.”

Addis cited the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, whose intensity and unpredictability scientists say were supercharged by a warming planet. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global temperatures hitting 1.28 degrees Celsius above the agency’s 20th-century baseline, NASA confirmed last month.

“At a time when federal protections are being rolled back, we must continue to lead the way by holding the industry accountable,” she said. “We have a responsibility to champion practices that protect both our planet and its people.“

California has already passed and signed into law the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, also known as SB 707, the nation’s first extended producer responsibility bill specific to textiles. By 2026, apparel producers in the state will need to establish a producer responsibility organization to create and fund a framework for the management of textile waste that encourages recovery through reuse, repair and recycling and discourages disposal.

AB 405 will require companies making more than $100 million in international revenue to not only disclose their supply chain emissions but also slash them in line with Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It will further require them to work with their suppliers to manage their chemical use and conduct wastewater testing according to internationally recognized methodologies, mitigating hazardous concentrations where necessary. Violations could result in penalties of up to 2 percent of their annual revenue that would go on to benefit environmental remediation projects for injured communities.

The same brands that have long been in favor of the New York Fashion Act, which was first proposed in 2022 to break the fashion industry out of its “black box” and take action on climate justice, also support a California version. They include Cotopaxi, Eileen Fisher, Everlane, Faherty, Ganni, Rothy’s and Stella McCartney, as well as Los Angeles-based Reformation, which calls its endorsement of similar regulation in its home state a “natural extension of our advocacy for a more sustainable industry.”

“Voluntary action simply will not be enough to push fashion forward, and we’ve seen consumer demand fluctuate,” said Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and VP of operations at Reformation. “At Ref, we believe regulatory efforts like this are essential for generating timely and seismic change. From due diligence processes to traceability requirements, the Fashion Act puts the responsibility and accountability on brands, which we know will have positive cascading effects throughout the industry.”

Patagonia, another California native, concurred, saying that California and New York share an influence on style, culture and commerce that can be “seen and felt globally.” There’s also a need to level a playing field that financially incentivizes social and environmental harm, said Corley Kenna, its chief impact and communications officer.

“We have spent decades examining our business practices and learning from our mistakes,” she said. “But we know Patagonia alone won’t solve the climate crisis—we need all companies in our industry to demonstrate progress on environmental issues, and to be held accountable for their claims. This legislation can help achieve that.”

It was also on Tuesday that New York legislators reintroduced AB 4631, a.k.a. the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, to give the bill another lease on life after a previous version didn’t reach the State Assembly floor in time for a vote. The passage of both states’ bills, which are broadly aligned, would create a regulatory bulwark and further enforce what Maxine Bédat, executive director of the “think and do tank” the New Standard Institute and one of the New York Fashion Act’s architects, calls local legislation with planet-spanning implications: New York is one of the premier fashion capitals, while California is the fifth largest economy in the world.

If the federal government cannot stay the course in an age when the hallmarks of climate breakdown are becoming increasingly apparent, then it’s up to the states to “carry the torch,” she said.

“The fossil fuel-enabled fires in California are not going away just because the president is in denial,” Bédat said. “The Fashion Act is common sense; by raising the floor for the industry, we also help promote local industry and innovation. We look forward to working with our partners and elected officials to get this landmark bill passed.”